The present invention relates to a sample management device, a method of managing a fluidic sample, and a sample separation system.
In liquid chromatography, a fluidic sample and an eluent (liquid mobile phase) may be pumped through conduits and a separation unit such as a column in which separation of sample components takes place. The column may comprise a material which is capable of separating different components of the fluidic sample. The separation unit may be connected to other fluidic members (like a sampler or an injector, a detector) by conduits. Before the fluidic sample is introduced into a separation path between a fluid drive unit (in particular a high pressure pump) and the separation unit, a predefined amount of fluidic sample shall be intaken from a sample source (such as a sample container) via an injection needle into a sample loop by a corresponding movement of a piston within a metering device. This usually occurs in the presence of a significantly smaller pressure than what the separation unit is run with. Thereafter, an injector valve is switched so as to introduce the intaken amount of fluidic sample from the sample loop of a metering path into the separation path between fluid drive unit and the separation unit for subsequent separation.
Injector valves may be configured as rotatable valves having a stator (which may have one or a plurality of fluid ports) and a rotor (which may have a plurality of grooves for connecting respective ones of the fluid ports) being rotatable with regard to the stator to thereby establish a desired fluid communication state between fluid ports and grooves. In order to be capable to withstand high pressure values of for instance up to 1200 bar in a fluid tight manner, it is necessary to press the rotor against the stator.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,723 discloses that, while a large primary stream of analytes flows from a chromatographic column to containers of a receiver, small samples of the analytes are diverted for flow to a mass spectrometer for analysis, by use of a transfer module. The transfer module includes a stator and a rotor or shuttle. The shuttle has an aliquot passage that initially lies in a first position where the primary stream flows through it so the aliquot passage receives a small sample. The shuttle then moves to a second position where the aliquot passage is aligned with a pump that pumps fluid out of the aliquot passage to the mass spectrometer.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,133,833 discloses methods and an apparatus for moving aliquot samples of fluid using a shuttle valve.
GB 2,345,118 discloses an injection valve which comprises a plurality of ports connected in pairs to allow fluid to flow in through a respective port and out through a second respective port and is characterised by an additional port provided in the fluid flow path of two connected ports, to provide a third port in that path. An analytical apparatus uses the valve to obtain varying concentrations of standard solution in an automated process for calibrating the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,830 discloses an automated analysis system which includes a pair of sample selection subsystems whose operations are coordinated by a host computer pursuant to developing analytical data useful to a process computer in controlling an industrial process. Each subsystem includes a sample selection computer operating to control one or more multiport valves in extracting fluid samples on a scheduled or demand basis from sample loops connected with the various process streams involved with the process. The extracted samples are injected into a spectrometer for analysis. An instrument computer converts the spectrometer responses to analytical data indicative of the constituent concentrations found in an analyzed sample.
However, the functionality of conventional sample management systems is limited.